Newsmedianews | Northern Ireland - a perspective by Sean Mc Aughey

by Sean Mc Aughey
Sean Mc Aughey is a former University of Ulster Student's union President and has worked in public relations.
He is now a freelance journalist and a regular contributor to the Blanket, which describes itself as “a journal of protest and dissent”.
His material is published unedited on this page.
Contact Sean Mc Aughey Archived items

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Leading Human Rights Solicitor "Shut Down” by Law Society

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At Least 32% of U.S. Mass Shooters Trained to Shoot by U.S. Military
10 May 2023; posted by the editor - General, Features, International, United States

By David Swanson
It’s been two years since I wrote on this topic. At that time, at least 36% of U.S. mass shooters had been trained by the U.S. military. Since then, a grand total of nobody at all has written on the topic.

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Tags: mass shootings, David Swanson, United States

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Roma people now face same rising anti-Gypsy fascism as back in the 1930s printable version

02 Aug 2015: posted by the editor - International

Soraya Post, presently the only Romani MEP in the European Parliament, says Roma people face the same rising anti-Gypsy fascism as back in the 1930s.

Speaking in the Zigeunerlager (Gypsy Camp) at Auschwitz on Sunday, Soraya Post said: “We are assembled here today to honour and to remember over 3,000 Roma exterminated during the night of the second of August 1944 here in Auschwitz - Birkenau. This commemoration is the symbol of the suffering of Roma and Sinti during the Second World War. It is also the symbol of ongoing Antigypsyism throughout Europe. Then and today.

“I feel sorrow. It hurts to be here. It hurts to be reminded. It hurts to understand. It hurts to learn.

“I will carry my sorrow for the rest of my life until my people are justified. Until the day Roma and Sinti are recognised as human beings. Until society acts with equal respect towards all citizens. This sorrow will only go away when I can see a change for a better future for our children. The daily struggle to survive has to end. We need to be able to plan and dream just like everyone else.

“I am tired. I am tired from carrying the memories. I am tired of telling them.

“But there is no rest for us. There is no time to process our sorrow because the stories and the conflict goes on. Can we tell our children that it is over? Can we forget and move on? Can we tell ourselves that the future will be brighter?

“I want to apologize to the survivors present here today.

“My generation has failed. We were supposed to right the wrongs. We were supposed to build a new world. I am so sorry for what you have to see and hear in Europe today.

“We see the same propaganda, the same racist rhetoric and the same violence growing as in the 1930s.

“In order to make sure that history doesn´t repeat itself our societies need to work against racism on all levels. We need to understand what creates hate, what sustains it and what makes it spread. We need to come up with tools that can help us keep hate back. We need to implement those tools and we need to make racism and discrimination matters worthy of our resources on a grand scale. The people of Europe need to see change and political will.

“We, all citizens of Europe, need this. No matter of gender, functionality or ethnicity we want a society where all are equal and are equally valued and have equal right to live a life of dignity.

“I hope that the adoption of the resolution on the 15th of April by the European Parliament on the occasion of International Roma Day - Anti-Gypsyism in Europe and EU recognition of the memorial day of the Roma genocide during World War II. It is with careful excitement I note that the European Commission is now using the term Antigypsyism in their texts regarding their work to better the situation for Roma in Europe. It is a small but important step.

“At the same time I wonder at the difference words can make. What happens when the amount of people that openly call themselves racist is growing in Europe. We are even seeing European states making open racist remarks. I do not hear strong objections against this. There is silence and patience. Politicians do not raise their voices. I fear this silence. It is our most dangerous enemy. The silence of the many when the few are singled out. It was then and it is today.

“We need resources and we need priority.

“We need to make the struggle against racism into what binds us. Europe needs to be a place where all people can live as free as the next.

“If we do not achieve the dream we will live the nightmare.

“Today we are at one of the darkest places of history. But history does not end here. This place is the symbol of hate, death and what humans are capable of doing to one another. But it is neither its graveyard nor its keeper.

“Many of the Roma and Sinti that died during the Second World War did so in the countryside. Killed by normal people. Neighbours. Colleagues. It took so little for them to kill. Still today we find new graves of Roma in the European countryside from that time.

“The life span of Roma and Sinti in Europe today is much lower than that of non-Roma citizens. At around 35 years of age, our age curve begins to drop. Life expectancy in Europe is lower for Roma. The quality of life of those years is often parallell to the 19th century.

“The official statistics of violence against Roma whisper of a much greater reality in which Roma are beaten, abused and even killed for the sake of being Roma or Sinti.

“We do not seldom lack electricity or drinking water. We do not always have roads to take us to work or school.

“This is Europe. This is 2015. We are closing in on being a hundred years from the atrocities of this place.

“Often it is not the situation itself that frustrates me the most. A lot of us have lived the situation for a long time. The true frustration comes when I see the lack humanity and political will and when I see how easy it is to make the situation better.

“I was in a European city. I met four mothers who told me that their kids were not allowed on the school bus. The school bus passed their kids every day. They had to walk across cornfields as the bus passed them by.

“We spoke to the city officials and they arranged for the children to go on the bus.

“It took five minutes. Five minutes. That broke my heart.

“Why did the mothers have to come to the City Hall for years when it took five minutes to fix the problem?

“I was in a another European country. A Roma settlement that had been there since the end of the Second World War and it did not have running water. 100 metres down the street there were regular houses were non-Roma lived. They had running water.

“To the authorities of that country those 100 metres could just as well have been 5000 kilometres. The Roma living in that settlement did not matter. Whatever happened to the people in that settlement did not matter.

“The lack of political will is killing Roma in Europe today. The incapacity to regard Roma as human beings of equal value and rights is killing Roma in Europe today.

“The lack of political will is eating our societies from within. It is the backdoor through which neo-nazi, fascist, racist and nationalist movements are entering our democracies.

“We have to end Antigypsyism. We need to work together against all forms of racism. We need to push stronger in unity for a democracy worthy of the principles of the Declaration of the Human Rights.

“I would like to stop here and make a personal note.

“I was born condemned because of my ethnicity, society told me that I am second class citizen and I believed so for the most of my life. I knew that it wasn´t right but the experiences I suffered in school, on the streets and throughout my life confirmed the fact that I was different. I was worth less than others.

“My own brother was taken from us because we were Sinti. My mother was made to go through a forced abortion and sterilisation in her seventh month. They took him away. This happened in Sweden in 1959 in a place were there was no war or racist propaganda. It happened with the help of the quiet consensus that was formed by widespread Antigypsyism.

“Last year Sweden published a White Paper of its abuse of its Roma minority during the 20th century.

“Today the Swedish government is evicting and ignoring the needs of Roma coming from other European countries seeking a better life.

“History repeats itself.

“We need priority and we need resources. Now.

“If we can not achieve the dream. We will live the nightmare.

“I would like to share my three truths. I got them from a man who sat in a concentration camp and spent his whole life talking to school children about his experiences during the war.

“There is only one race - the human being
“There is only one religion - love
“There is only one world - or no world at all”

Tags: Roma, Zigeunerlager

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Friday, January 14, 2005
Leading Human Rights Solicitor "Shut Down” by Law Society
Society claims ‘substantial history of complaints going back ... years’
Exclusive report by Sean Mc Aughey
Sources and friends close to lawyer Padraigin Drinan are saying the official reasons behind an enforced closure by the Law Society of the offices of Ireland’s foremost human rights defender and solicitor remains wide open for damaging speculation.

Former clients who contacted the Law Society say they were immediately re-directed to a voice mail inbox belonging to the Deputy Secretary; Suzanne Bryson who was unavailable.

On Wednesday a Law Society spokesman was asked if Ms Drinan’s certificate to practice been fully revoked. The spokesman described the measures against Ms Drinan as a “removal of her provision to practice.” and added that a full Law Society press statement on the matter would be available.

In a statement released on Friday, January 14, 2005, the Law Society said: “Ms Drinan has a substantial history of complaints going back a number of years. These have led to a series of decisions by the Law Society to bring proceedings against Ms Drinan before the Disciplinary Tribunal, established for this purpose by the Solicitors (NI) Order 1976, as amended. The Disciplinary Tribunal operates independently of the Law Society.”

However, no clarrification of the substance or nature of the ‘complaint’ was given. The statement continues: “Complaints against Ms Drinan came before the Disciplinary Tribunal in May 2004. On considering the evidence presented by the Law Society, the Tribunal found that the complaints had been duly substantiated. It may be helpful to explain that in addition to imposing certain fines and costs penalties, the Tribunal Order records as follows; ‘The Tribunal noted with regret the Respondent’s (Ms Drinan) previous history of proven complaints before the Tribunal which were all similar to the complaints today. They formed the view that the Respondent was not functioning at any acceptable level as a single practitioner and that in the interest of the public and the Respondent herself, they are ordering that she is restricted from practising on her own account or in partnership. She may accept employment from another solicitor provided they have at least seven years post qualification experience. The Tribunal also orders that she shall not work in any practice using her name on the title or as one of the principals.’ The Tribunal were prepared to defer the implemantation of the Order for a reasonable period to allow Ms Drinan to make alternative arrangements. This deferment initially applied until September 2004 with a subsequent deferral to a date than fixed by the Tribunal at 6 January 2005.

“As and from that date, Ms Drinan is not entitled as a matter of law to practise on her own account. If she continues to do so, she will not only be in breach of the Order of the Tribunal, but will also be committing a criminal offence. In these circumstances the Law Society is under an obligation to see that the terms of the Tribunal Order are complied with.

“Ms Drinan is not inhibited from practice as an employed solicitor.

“The inability of Ms Drinan to continue in practice on her own account is not an action taken by the Law Society but is a function of an Order made by the Disciplanary Tribunal. Ms Drinan has not to our knowedge at any time sought to contest or appeal the Orders made by the Disciplinary Tribunal.” The statement was signed by Don Anderson, for the Law Society.

An informed source close to Ms Drinan said it was believed that as a result of her civil rights involvement she was seen by the establishment as an embarrassing and troublesome ‘thorn in the side’ who had done nothing wrong other than to try to provide legal advice to those who could not otherwise afford it.

IRSP spokesperson, Terry Harkin described Ms Drinan as “someone who was on par with James Connolly especially in terms of helping the poor and the voiceless all over Ireland” and he asked “where will the most vulnerable in our society get legal help now ”?

“Padraigin Drinan,” he continued, “is a once in a lifetime heroine who ought to be recognized and elevated for her tireless work and not punished, bullied and intimidated by some of her colleagues, who have left her open to a humiliating whisper campaign. ”

A Spokesperson for the Anti Racism Network described The Law Society’s actions as “questionable” and she asked where was the Law Society’s energy when legal immigrants were imprisoned with their children, being bombed from their home or loosing their legs due to frostbite. The immigrants she said are only a small example of the many communities throughout Ireland who are indebted to Padraigin Drinan. ”

Padraigin Drinan speaking from her Belfast office said: “At this stage it appears that I am accused of being a poor business manager but not guilty of any financial impropriety. I have been instructed also that I must amalgamate with other solicitors. ”

But she added: ”I am heartened by the hundreds of calls from well wishers and supporters from all over the world including a call from among others, Gareth Pierce.”
background items

Thursday, 28 October 2004
Féile an Phobail, West Belfast
By Sean Mc Aughey
The West Belfast community was demonised for many years by both the establishment and the media and this reached fever pitch in March 1988 as a result of the tragic events which followed the SAS killings of three unarmed IRA volunteers in Gibraltar. In reaction to this unparalleled negative and damaging portrayal of the West Belfast community, local groups and their MP, Gerry Adams, decided to organise a festival. Its purpose was to celebrate the positive side of the community, its creativity, its energy, its passion for the arts, and for sport. And it aimed at providing events and entertainment at a price that the majority of the community could afford.

*1 The West Belfast Féile which is entering its 17th year is the largest community (people) powered festival in Europe. It is internationally regarded as a ten day long festival "on par" with the best community festivals in England and Ireland. The Féile includes, a colourful carnival parade, discussions, debates, concerts, exhibitions, children's events, i.e street parties, bouncy castles etc, sports, literary and drama events, Féile radio, widespread community events on a street to street, pub to pub basis and various political, cultural or historical tours and walks.

The Festival aims to provide events of interest for everyone at a price that the majority of the community could afford while simultaneously serving also to elevate a positive West Belfast self image contolled by its people despite the forces acting against the people and the official resources denied them. The Féile continues to grow into a major tourist attraction. The August Féile continues also to easily attract "top of the range" participation from local and International entertainers, artists and commentators. This year's Féile line up included, Arthur Scargill leader in 1984 of the National Union of Mineworkers presenting The 10th Annual Frank Cahill Memorial Lecture and The P.J. McGrory Memorial Lecture - Long Road to the Truth delivered by Mrs Geraldine Finucane who was shot and wounded at the time of her husband Pat's, assassination 15 years ago. Top British band Big Brovaz, Irish Traditionalist singer/songwriter, Donal Luney and Andy Irvine, Christy Moore and Declan Sinnott, novelist Roddy Doyle, comedian Rich Hall and Bob Marley`s band, the Wailers demonstrating that the Feile is going from strength to strength and most definitely growing in popularity not only among the audience but the artists, as well. The choice of August for the Féile by the West Belfast Community and many other Republican communities like Ardoyne and New Lodge is pertinent. Because, August 9th 1971, brought a re-introduction to nationalist areas of widespread house raids, arrests and imprisonment without trial or a release date. The yearly anniversary of Interment was previously marked in the community by a display of bonfires of defiance. But, the bonfires provided the RUC and British Army with the ideal opportunity for provaction and delivered in British terms "a fool proof" excuse for the entire "Mechanism of the State" to "justify" any injury or death perpetrated by State violence and especially the use of plastic bullets, when framed within the same context of a nationalist bonfire.

Teenager shot dead returning home from Internment night bonfire.
The DPP refused to initiate proceedings on the grounds that it was impossible to establish which RUC officer fired the fatal shot. The jury found that at the time of Seamus' killing that he was not engaged in any rioting and that there was no rioting at the time of his killing.

*2 "The fatal shot" that killed 15 year-old Seamus Duffy from the Oldpark area was fired from a passing RUC patrol on August 9th 1989. The plastic bullet crushed his heart and tore a four-inch laceration in his left lung.

*3 Seamus Duffy was returning home from an internment night bonfire and there was no rioting in the area. The initial RUC response indicates according to The Relatives for Justice group, the RUC believed Seamus Duffy did not die as a result of being hit by a plastic bullet and that they would appoint a 'top policeman' to investigate the exact circumstances of the death.

*4 Secretary of State, Peter Brooke said: 'There are no grounds for suggesting their use (Plastic Baton Rounds fired by RUC officers) last night was other than in accordance with the law'.

*5 Darkness
Over a very short period of time, bonfire culture in most Republican communities has been easily transformed to the community-orientated ethos that permeates participative festivals. Bonfires were already long since stigmatised as negative and destructive by the collective wisdom and experience of the community and most especially by those members of the community who vividly recall how life once was before the bright lights and colour of the Féile. A time, when, West Belfast was in darkness because the various combatants shut down the streetlights and fear was a way of life. The local dogs barking were for those of us making our way home hoping to avoid a beating from the British Army patrols, a most welcomed concert of sorts, alerting with pin point accuracy the exact location of the four, eight, 16 or 32 blackened faces of the British Army foot patrols in the area.

“Riddles' Field" - Daddy Makes A Dream Comes True (Thanks to the Féile)
When I reflect on the quality of life my teenage children are currently enjoying and compare this to my teenage days, I owe a lot to the efforts of the many people behind the West Belfast Féile who are continually raising the esteem of our people and enhancing our quality of life. There is clearly a massive gulf between my teenage days and that of my teenage children today in terms of confidence, opportunities and simply attending a concert by their favourite "pop stars" in West Belfast. This in itself remains a source of immense joy and pride. Especially, when I think about what used to be -"Riddles' Field", (Beechmount Leisure Centre) and look at the here and now concert venue, where teenage dreams are fulfilled. My daughters were in seventh heaven a few years ago at the Féile in "Riddles' Field" during a Westlife concert and then the Atomic Kitten concert. My teenagers' expectations are obviously higher today and undoubtedly more realistically obtainable thanks to the Féile. My children's confidence is part of the vibrancy that makes West Belfast Féile buzz. This buzz has been harnessed, channelled and most importantly of all, encouraged by the various F éile projects and events.

A Teenage Nightmare I hold by comparison to my children, a teenage tale of woe. One of my favourite Rock n' Roll bands in 1975, Showaddywaddy had agreed to play in Belfast at the ABC. I was all set for my face to face with my teenage "Top of the Pops" idols and unfortunately this was as near as I got. Showaddywaddy pulled the plug on the Belfast tour when news surrounding the murder of the Miami Showband reached their agents. I was shattered. The people responsible for killing the Miami Showband musicians were pro-British and some were also members of a British Army Regiment. Showaddywaddy were a Sheffield Band.

On the 31st July 1975, a Loyalist gang murdered three members of the Miami Showband. Tony Geraghty (23), Fran O'Toole (29), Brian McCoy (33). Two of the UVF gang were also killed, Harris Boyle, described as a UVF Major from Portadown, and Wesley Somerville, described as a UVF Lieutenant from Caledon, Co Tyrone. Two men from the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) were jailed for 35 years in connection with the murders of members of the Miami Showband. The Miami Massacre, a part of our past, had also a lasting impact for many engaged in the Arts and for one Belfast man the Miami murders would bring about his film debut.

Angel - Galway Film Fleadh Michael Dwyer: The thing that triggered Angel was the murder of the Miami Showband musicians...
Neil Jordan: Kind of. I was playing in a band and we used to travel up and down to Belfast and Derry and places like that and we'd be driving back late at night. It was in the 1980's when all those sectarian killings were happening. It was very black; you always presumed it wouldn't happen to you - that you were safe - and when the Miami were shot it seemed quite shocking. They were innocent and I felt totally numb I suppose and that put images in my mind. I like to write things with people in mind and I had written Angel with Stephen Rea in mind

*6 How are ye Jeffrey? - West Belfast Féile Talks Back
During the Féile Talks Back debate, a former IRA POW, Seanna Walsh—who was sentenced to twenty-two years when he was caught making explosives and mortar bombs— courteously welcomed The DUP's Jeffery Donaldson to the Féile debate. Mr Walsh then asked: “Jeffrey, when you talk about the IRA's capacity to make war, I can go out of here tonight with a couple of hundred pounds in my pocket and purchase the equipment to make Baltic Exchange/Canary Wharf type bombs. How are you going to remove that capacity? "

*7 The DUP man addressed the question in repetitive mantra. Seanna Walsh also said: "The point I was making was that I can produce homemade explosives and mortars. You cannot decommission that knowledge. What is more important is our commitment to peace and to politics. But all of the initiatives taken by the IRA to date have had absolutely no effect on the unionist community. Trust is a two-way street. We suspect that at the root of it unionists cannot deal with equality and sharing power and that the idea of republicans being in government was a bridge too far for them. Everything else is an excuse not to go there. ”

*8 The IRA and its weapons is being used as an excuse
About 24 hours after the Festival debate, Mr Gerry Adams, The West Belfast MP and President of Sinn Fein told PA News:
“ While I would not like to minimise what may be genuine fears and concerns within unionism, I do think the issue of the IRA and its weapons is being used an excuse.” The Sinn Fein president commended Mr Donaldson on his appearance at the festival and paid tribute to his colleagues on the committee, which organised the event. Mr Adams also said he would like to take part in a similar event in a loyalist area.

*9 Community Empowerment
Mr Adams sums up the spirit of the Féile in a sentence by saying he = would like to take part in a similar event in a loyalist area. Community festivals bring as in this case politicians face to face with the voter in the voter's home territory. The Shankill Road and East Belfast "Think Tanks" did likewise to enpower the community and expose the politicians. The voice of the community can be best heard at festival time.

References and sources used in this article:
*1 http://www.feilebelfast.com/ourhistory/
*2 http://www.relativesforjustice.com/victims/seamus_duffy.htm
*3 http://www.relativesforjustice.com/victims/seamus_duffy.htm
*4 http://www.relativesforjustice.com/victims/seamus_duffy.htm
*5 http://www.relativesforjustice.com/victims/seamus_duffy.htm
*6 http://www.iol.ie/~galfilm/filmwest/fleadhjordan.htm
*7 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/3543518.stm
*8 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/3543518.stm
*9 http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3D3300413

by Sean Mc Aughey